Linux Mint has previewed a new Calendar application, an EPUB reader, a redesigned Library, and other XApp improvements for its next release.

What XApps are and why they exist

XApps are Mint’s fork of a set of GNOME applications, maintained to work well across desktop environments rather than only in GNOME Shell.

The reason they exist is a long-running disagreement. GNOME’s application design has moved steadily toward libadwaita, GNOME-specific design patterns, and the removal of options and menu bars that GNOME considers clutter. Those applications look and behave oddly outside GNOME, and Mint ships Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce.

So Mint forked the ones it needed: Xed from gedit, Xviewer from Eye of GNOME, Xreader from Evince, Pix from gThumb, Xplayer from Totem. They keep traditional interface conventions, including menu bars and a broader set of preferences.

Whether that is conservatism or good judgement depends on your view of GNOME’s design direction, and both readings have honest defenders. What is not in dispute is that a sizeable number of users prefer applications with visible menus and configurable behaviour, and Mint serves them.

The new applications

Calendar fills a genuine gap. Mint has not shipped a default calendar, which is a conspicuous absence for a distribution aimed at people migrating from Windows who expect one.

EPUB reader. Mint has Xreader for PDFs and documents, and ebooks were not covered. Calibre is the usual answer and is a library manager with a reader attached rather than a reading application, which is more than most people want when they simply have a book to read.

Redesigned Library. Presumably the media library interface, given the other XApp media applications.

Mint’s position

Mint is consistently among the most-used desktop distributions and it gets less attention than its user base warrants, because it does not do dramatic things. It ships a conventional desktop that works, it does not remove features users rely on, and it does not require anyone to relearn their workflow every two years.

That is a coherent position and it is why Mint is the recommendation people give to a friend switching from Windows. Our beginner distribution guide covers where it sits against the alternatives.

Building and maintaining a set of applications is real ongoing work for a small team, and doing it to preserve interface conventions that upstream discarded is the sort of unglamorous effort that keeps a particular kind of user on Linux.

The next release will be based on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, following Mint’s usual practice of tracking the LTS.